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Freelancing has become a great way to make a living and be your own boss. Lots of people have chosen the flexibility and remote working capabilities that a freelancing job offers. One of the most popular ways to freelance, especially for beginners, is to write or edit digital marketing content. The explosion of social media and the web has created a big demand for copywriters and copy editors. All those trillions of web pages and social media content had to be written by someone.
Getting Started in Freelance Writing and Editing
For those new to the world of freelancing, it can be daunting to put out your shingle and hope someone will find you. Thankfully, there are several sites that can source work for you. Sites like fiverr or upwork are great ways to gain experience as a beginner. So before you build a website or make business cards for your freelance business, do a couple of gigs to see if you really like it.
Should I Focus on Copywriting or Copy editing?
Good copywriting and copy editing are the secrets to great digital marketing. The good news for a beginning freelancer is that being good at one can lead to getting better at the other. All good content writers have to have some level of editing skill or their content will not satisfy their client. While editing is important, it’s much harder to write great digital marketing content then to edit it. If you have to pick one, I’d start with getting good at writing content. The more you practice writing and reading good content, the better you’ll get at editing.
Getting Used to Working Remote
The beautiful thing about the internet age is that freelance copywriters and copy editors can work remote. For some, this can prove to be a challenge if they are not used to the independent nature of not working in an office. If you can get past that and stay disciplined, then the flexibility of having a remote freelance writing or editing job is really great. You can work from anywhere — even while traveling the world. Again, the only downside is that you’ll need to be disciplined to get the job done.
Freelance Marketing Secrets
Now that you have the start of a remote freelance copywriting or copy editing job, you’ll need to promote yourself. This can be a hard thing to do since most of us don’t like to brag about how good we are. Sure, there are some among us who can do it but if you’re a creative like me, it can be a struggle. That’s why I want to let you in on the secret to marketing your freelance business — do stellar work.
Sounds simple enough but the number one way you will keep and get new clients is to deliver high quality output on time. The reason being is that clients have friends and associates who need the same types of services. It’s almost impossible for a company to not have to hire an outside copywriter or copy editor to handle the exponential amount of content that must be produced.
When to Create a Website for your Freelance Business
The answer really depends on how well you’re new business is doing. Sure, having a website for your freelance business is a great idea. It will give clients a sense of your work output and that you are legitimate. The downside is that it does cost money and time to develop a website that looks good.
I’d say that when you’re starting to get more and more referral work, then it might be time to create a website to showcase your work. Until then, you can probably rely on your ratings on the freelancing sites as well as emailing clients links and samples of your work.
Is a Freelance Writing or Editing Job Right for me?
Many people make a great living being a freelancer but it’s not for everyone. If you’re someone who wants a steady paycheck, likes stable work, and needs health insurance, then jumping head first into the freelance pool might not be for you. I know a lot of people who do freelancing as a side gig to have some extra pocket money. Some have been so successful that they quit their jobs to do freelancing full time.
If you are curious about what it would be like, then start slow. Take on a couple of simple gigs to see how you like it. Dip your toe in the freelance pool. Ask your friends and family if they need any copywriting or copy editing help. Offer to write some digital marketing content for a nonprofit or community group.
However you start, remember that the secret to any successful business is to be humble enough to know you don’t know it all and hungry enough to take on a challenge that might not pan out.
